1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an ice dispenser apparatus for discharging or dispensing an amount of ice from an ice storage chamber in response to an ice dispensation request signal and more particularly to an ice dispenser apparatus of such a novel and improved structure in which pulverization of ice pieces or pellets stored within the ice storage chamber due to agitation thereof can be suppressed to a minimum to thereby prevent occurrence of a so-called arching phenomenon in which ice pellets are rigidly connected to one another through molten ice powder resulting from the pulverized ice pellets.
2. Prior Art
Heretofore, there have been used a variety of ice dispensing machines, a typical one of which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,651,656 and which will be described below in respect to the structure having relevance to the understanding of the present invention by referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 6 shows the known ice dispenser with portions being broken away and FIG. 7 shows an electric circuit for controlling operation of the ice dispenser.
Now referring to FIG. 6 together with FIG. 7, when an dispensing switch 110 is closed as a result of accumulation of ice pellets within an ice storage chamber 128 as produced by an ice making mechanism of the structure known per se, a relay 110 is electrically energized through a contact 112 of an ice dispensing timer 118 and an ice dispensation activating switch 114, whereby a relay contact 116 is closed. Consequently, a relay 104 is energized through a contact 102 of a time delay relay, whereupon contacts 105 and 106 are closed to positions for activating a drive motor 146 which then rotates an ice dispensing auger 140 and an agitator 160 by means of a chain 156 suspended on and around sprockets 150, 152 and 170. Thus, the ice pellets within the ice storage chamber are caused to be dispensed through a discharge port 142. The drive motor 146 is energized so long as the ice dispensing switch 110 is closed or for a period preset in the ice dispensation timer.
In the ice dispenser disclosed in the U.S. patent mentioned above, since the ice dispensing auger 140 serving for dispensation of ice and the agitator 160 for agitating the ice pellets stored within the ice storage chamber are rotated so long as the drive motor 146 is activated, some of ice pellets are likely to be pulverized into ice powder. When the pulverized ice enters gaps between the stored ice pellets and undergo melting and re-icing, there takes place an arching phenomenon in which the ice pellets are rigidly adhered to one another in an arch-like fashion. Once the arching phenomenon takes place, difficulty is encountered in discharging or dispensing satisfactorily all the ice pellets from the ice storage chamber regardless of rotation of the agitator, since those ice pellets bonded together and located outside of the region insusceptible to the action of the agitator can not be collapsed into separate ice pellets, giving rise to a problem. Besides, the arching phenomenon tends to disadvantageously increase motor torque required for rotating the agitator. Furthermore, the dispensed ice pellets tend to assume non-uniformity in respect to the size and shape, involving degradation in the quality of ice product possibly down to waste ice chips.